The present invention relates to USB connectors and, in particular, it concerns reversible USB plugs and receptacles for mating both with standard connectors and with each other.
By way of introduction, a standard USB plug can be inserted into a standard USB receptacle in only one of two possible orientations; if the USB plug is in an inverted orientation relative to the USB receptacle, the plug and receptacle cannot be coupled. As a result, the user will often attempt to insert a plug into a receptacle in an incorrect orientation. In a situation in which a USB plug is frequently inserted and removed from a USB receptacle, such errors may become a significant inconvenience for the user. Furthermore, in the case of a device with an integrated USB plug, the orientation of the device when docked with a host appliance is dictated by the orientation of the USB receptacle on the host appliance. In the case of an asymmetrically shaped device, the device may block access to other ports of the host or otherwise obstruct other peripheral devices from being connected to the host appliance. If it were possible to reverse the orientation, the problem would typically be avoided.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,094,086 to the present inventor (referred to below as “the '086 patent”), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses various reversible USB connectors, both in the form of plugs for mating with a standard USB type-A receptacle and receptacles for mating with a standard USB type-A plug. In each case, the reversible connector allows functional mating with a standard connector in either of two coupling orientations, thereby relieving the aforementioned orientation limitations on USB connections.
Although the '086 patent discloses both reversible plugs and reversible receptacles for mating with the complementary standard USB connectors, the patent does not address coupling of reversible plugs with reversible receptacles. In certain cases, attempts to couple two such reversible connectors may result in unpredictable results, possibly leading to jamming of the moving parts within the reversible connectors, or in engagement in a manner which would not achieve electrical connection between the connectors.
There is therefore a need for reversible USB connectors which can functionally mate both with standard USB connectors and with other reversible connectors in a predictable and reliable manner.